Articles

The massive support for Bernie Sanders’ political revolution has turned
the Democratic primary into a battleground instead of the expected
coronation for Hillary Clinton. At each stage Sanders has fought back
against big polling leads by Clinton to contest key states, sometimes
winning and sometimes coming very close to achieving major upsets.

Sanders’ victory in Michigan last week was a stunning rejection of
Clinton’s anti-worker, anti-environment trade policies as Bernie made
the state primary into a referendum on NAFTA and the TPP. The Clinton
administration’s NAFTA trade deal did more to turn the Midwest into a
“rust belt” than any other single policy passed by either party.

The March 15 primaries showed some of that same dynamic of momentum for
Sanders, in which he fought back from huge 30 point margins in Missouri
and Illinois to almost clinch victory. In Chicago, Sanders received
significant levels of support from ordinary people fed up with Clinton’s
friend, Mayor 1%, Rahm Emanuel, who has covered up police killings while
attacking public education and workers’ pensions.

But unfortunately it was not enough, and Sanders ended the night with a
major delegate deficit, including an overwhelming loss to Clinton in the
big delegate state of Florida, as well as double digit defeats in Ohio
and North Carolina. While there are many states left to vote, it is
increasingly clear that Sanders’ left-wing campaign will very likely be
defeated if he does not break free from the narrow confines of the
pro-capitalist Democratic Party and run an independent campaign in the
general election. Such a campaign would be a great step towards
beginning to build a political alternative for working people against
the big business Democratic and Republican parties.

Continuing the Political Revolution

It is clear that, as of now, Sanders is still fighting to win and has
stepped up his attacks on Clinton since Super Tuesday. Millions of
people in states that have not yet voted in the primaries are waiting
their turn to support Sanders’ stand against the billionaire class and
we wholeheartedly identify with that.

But it is is also time to look soberly at the situation and draw lessons
from the experience so far and prepare the way to break from the
Democratic Party. Sanders should declare his intention to take the
political revolution all the way to the general election in November, as
an independent if necessary. Sanders’ supporters need a debate on how to
make sure we do not end up imprisoned by the constraints of the Wall
Street dominated Democratic Party.

Before Sanders officially launched his campaign last year, Socialist
Alternative called on him to run as an independent candidate. While
Bernie believed he could have more impact in the Democratic primaries,
we made the case that the Democratic Party is hostile territory for a
pro-worker, anti-corporate campaign. The obstacles include the
undemocratic methods and structures the Democratic leadership imposes on
the primary process, the power of Wall Street money, and the
establishment media, as well as the more conservative character of the
small minority of primary voters. This means it is far harder for
Sanders to take over the Democratic Party than it would be to begin
building a new political party.

By running in the Democratic primaries, we argued Sanders was making a
fundamental mistake that would mean cutting himself off from the vast
majority of people who do not participate in the primary process or even
follow the political discussion until the general election and creating
illusions that the Democratic Party could be used as a tool for a
“political revolution.”

Despite these disagreements with Sanders that we have openly put forward
at each stage, Socialist Alternative did not stand on the sidelines but
instead agreed to go along with Sanders and his supporters to test out
his strategy of running in the Democratic primaries. We joined with
dedicated Sanders supporters to build support for his pro-worker and
anti-corporate left wing campaign. We energetically helped to build
rallies, meetings and marches to promote a political revolution against
the billionaire class.

However, now it’s time to draw a balance sheet of Sanders’ attempt to
run as a Democrat. It is true that Sanders campaign has drawn millions
into a discussion about socialism. But if Sanders accepts the results of
the primaries and endorses Hillary Clinton, rather than running as an
independent, his campaign will end up as a transmission belt for Clinton
and the same old corporate politics of the Democratic Party that
alienated so many Sanders supporters in the first place.

Sanders should not allow the political revolution to die at the July
Democratic Convention. Millions have been inspired by his call for a $15
minimum wage, free college, and Medicare for All. That energy must be
used to continue to build the movement until November and beyond. No
challenge to the billionaire class will ever be successful that begins
and ends in a presidential primary. The emerging movement for a
political revolution needs to urge Sanders to run independently all
through November or to develop a plan B of support for the remaining
strongest left, anti-corporate challenger, Jill Stein of the Green Party.

Many people are very focused on defeating the Republicans in the general
election, and would be worried that an independent campaign run by
Bernie could throw the election to Donald Trump. Yet there are 40-45
states which will be clearly won by the Democratic or Republican
candidates and there is absolutely no reason Bernie could not campaign
all out in these states until November. Bernie Sanders and his
supporters should discuss whether in the small number of swing states
Sanders could choose not to be on the ballot in order to avoid that
concern. An encouraging result of such a campaign would prepare the
ground for many more independent, anti-corporate candidacies in the near
future.

A Party of the 99%

Working people not only needs to build a mass movement to fight for
their interests, they also need to create a political tool to take on
the billionaires – we need our own political party. The Democratic Party
is tightly controlled in a top-down fashion by politicians who are
funded by and indebted to big business. Working people and young people
have been hugely inspired by Bernie’s refusal to take corporate campaign
contributions – it shows clearly the grassroots basis of his campaign
and his rejection of Wall Street’s control of politics. But it is not
enough to have one candidate rejecting corporate money in a campaign
based on grassroots forces. We need a new political party of the 99%,
with genuine democratic structures, which completely and openly rejects
corporate money and corporate influence.

We need the revolt against Wall Street to grow from Bernie’s single
campaign to an organized movement of millions that runs candidates in
every state and every city.

Bernie should call for a national conference of his supporters and those
on the left to launch a discussion and begin making plans to run
independent candidates on a pro-worker, anti-corporate platform. This
conference could begin the process of building a party of the 99% in the
United States.

Kshama Sawant’s victories as a socialist in Seattle shows that Bernie’s
campaign is not a one-time phenomenon. There is a huge and growing
interest in socialism, and young people in particular are looking for an
alternative to the failed system of capitalism. Sawant was able to win
re-election last year in spite of the fierce opposition of the city’s
Democratic establishment because she had an organized force on her side
– Socialist Alternative. Socialist Alternative was also instrumental in
launching 15 Now with Kshama Sawant and building the movement that won
the $15 minimum wage in Seattle. This victory helped spur similar
victories in a number of other key cities, and became part of Bernie’s
platform in the presidential race.

Fighting the Right

March 15 also resulted in big gains for Donald Trump, who looks more and
more likely to win the Republican nomination. If Bernie does not run all
the way through November, the field will be left open to Trump to tap
into the massive anger at the establishment. This can cause lasting
damage, as many people who could have been won over to Bernie’s platform
will be repelled by Clinton’s establishment politics, and won over
instead to Trump’s right-wing, anti-immigrant, anti-worker message.

The corporate politics of Clinton and the Democratic Party have helped
fertilize the ground on which first the Tea Party and now Donald Trump’s
campaign have grown. The thoroughly pro-corporate character of both the
Democratic and Republican party establishments has been completely
exposed since the beginning of the Great Recession – from the
bi-partisan bail outs of Wall Street, to attacks on public education and
social services, and along with these policies the growth of massive
economic inequalities. It is critical that those angry at the
establishment have the chance to vote for someone who represents their
interests, and not Wall Street, in November.

The powerful protests at Trump rallies like the one in Chicago, led
amongst others, by Bernie Sanders supporters and Black Lives Matter
activists, show the strong mood to fight against the right. This energy
cannot be allowed to dissipate in the demoralization that will follow
for many if Sanders ends his campaign by throwing his support to Hillary.

Massive, peaceful protests should be organized at upcoming Trump
rallies, and used as a means to build the movement against the
billionaire class. The call of leaders from SEIU, NARAL, environmental
groups and many more for such protests is very welcome.

#MillionStudentMarch and #Movement4Bernie are organizing a national day
of action against the threat from the right on April 13. This is the way
we will keep up the momentum for the political revolution and lay the
basis for the type of mass movement and political initiatives which can
truly challenge the domination of the billionaire class and the
capitalist system.